TWO ARTISTS SHARING LIFE CENTERED AROUND OUR STUDIOS, THE GARDEN AND THE KITCHEN. WE TRAVEL TO LOOK AT ART, GARDENS AND EAT INTERESTING FOOD. OUR TRAVELS TAKE US AROUND NEW ENGLAND AND TO ITALY

Thursday, January 12, 2012

WINTER COLOR

Bluebirds arrived yesterday. Today the first snow of the winter and the Bluebirds bring winter color to the garden. It has been quite magical watching them fly around all morning in the blowing and falling snow, stopping at times to dine on rose hips .

We noticed that there was an unusual amount of bird activity outside our windows. A flock of bluebirds had arrived and they were checking out the bluebird boxes. Along with the bluebirds came a whirlwind of goldfinches.

And then, the pair of cardinals showed up together, as they are known to do.......they are very sweet to watch. The red of the male is incredible and the color of the females beak is intense, a gorgeous red-orange. Pure color against the white snow.

The fan of color in the wings of the male Cardinal would make for a good art school project in mixing color; where each primary color, red for example, is first mixed with white to create a spectrum of tints, then mixed with it's compliment ( in the case of red it would be green), to create a range of shades.

So so much for the art lesson, Mr. Cardinal is off to the neighboring apple tree where he might find some shelter from the first snow of the winter (2012), here in our New Hampshire garden.